


Prelude to a Hurricane

by bluetoast



Series: Angels and Ministers of Grace [12]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Cold Weather, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Han Solo's A+ Parenting, Han is NEVER getting father of the year, Leia Organa's A+ Parenting, No Smut, Past Infidelity, Skywalker kids, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 09:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8663050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: It was a Monday that started off with such promise. There were a few things that Ben and Rey forgot about during the weekend. Namely that there would be a few marks left behind by their activities. But the few scratches and bruises are nothing compared to the news Han Solo has for his son. Leia, by contrast, misses three calls and gets interesting news from her boss. Everything's going wonderfully on the Skywalker farm - even more when they learn that they're having guests for Christmas.HC Bingo - Burns





	

Rey was silently thankful she didn't work until Thursday by mid-morning on Monday. The soreness in her legs that had plagued her most of Sunday weren't completely related to her and Ben's activities of Friday and Saturday night. Before lunch, she wagered that the only thing that wasn't hurting were her teeth. Everything else was just one massive period cramp that would not go away. She'd taken a painkiller before she left the apartment, but by the time Life Drawing came around at two, she just wanted to skip class and go home. 

She slid into her seat in the classroom, resolved to keep her face absolutely blank the entire time. The default, professional demeanor that everyone was supposed to maintain. She only glanced up when she heard the door of the changing room open, but it was just enough to see what she hadn't been awake enough in the morning to notice; something was seriously wrong with Ben. 

He didn't look sick, not in the traditional sense; but his whole aura had changed, and when he sat down, back in the same profile he'd been in during the first session, she saw his eyes flick towards her, if only for a moment before returning his gaze to the front. 

She looked down, focusing on sharpening her pencil, trying to place what exactly his body language was saying. Rey hadn't heard all of Ben's conversation with Nate last night, despite there just being a wall between them. She'd been only half awake and hadn't registered what all was discussed. They'd both been too tired to talk when he got into bed and this morning he'd left the apartment before her, having a class at eight and her first one wasn't until nine-fifteen. She might have remained perfectly passive for the entire class, had she not heard the spattering of giggles to her left. She lifted her head, annoyed, then the person next to her nudged her arm. “What?” She hissed, to sore and too distracted to bother being pleasant.

“Someone got lucky this weekend.” The guy, she was pretty sure his name was Ian, smirked and nodded his head towards Ben.

“What?” Rey prided herself at keeping her expression calm before she turned her focus off of the wretchedness of her roommate's stony mask of a face and flicked down to his bicep. Where a purple bruise, that, where she to place it back there, would be perfectly covered by her mouth, seemed twice as dark as it should be, given how pale Ben was. That wasn't the only bruise he was sporting. She ducked her head, her lunch threatening to revolt in her stomach. She definitely hadn't escaped the weekend without a few hickeys – but all of hers were hidden by clothes. So would Ben's, had he been dressed. “Don't be crass.” 

“Offended, Kenobi?” he scoffed. “Who are you, Mother Angelica?”

“I don't even know who that is.” She rolled her eyes, going back to her pencil sharpener. “You didn't say anything about the hickey the size of the Grand Canyon the first model was sporting the second week she was in here.”

“That's different.” He snorted.

“Wow, double standard much Ian?” The girl on his other side interjected., and leaned toward Rey behind his back. “Don't mind him, he's still peeved his boyfriend wouldn't reenact the scene from _Ghost_ in the Ceramics Room with him.” She made a disgusted noise. “The chairs on the pottery wheels don't function for that. Not to mention that wet clay would make shitty lube.”

“Oh, piss off Tessa.” Ian got out his own pencil sharpener, glowering at it. “Guy's ugly anyway.”

“No, the only ugly thing around here is your attitude.” Rey snapped just as the professor turned on the stereo. She looked up just in time to catch the smirk that graced Ben's lips for a heartbeat, and it was enough for her feel her cheeks flush. 

No, this wasn't going to be an awkward class at all. 

*

Ben was doing his best to remain passive, but it wasn't easy. Before class, between here and the library, he'd called his dad, wanting to tell him about his book being published. While his father was mostly indifferent about what he did with his life, he _had_ always looked forward to the story books that Ben had made when he was little, sending them to him for no real reason other than to say he missed him. Han Solo would have wanted to know about the book. What Ben hadn't counted on was hearing a voice other than his dad's on the other end of the line.

A female voice that _definitely_ wasn't his mother nor was it in the sort of place where Han Solo were he could say it was a coworker. Not with the conversation he had heard. Ben desperately wanted to think that he was imagining things, that maybe, just _maybe,_ it had been the television. But his father had spoken back to the owner of the voice, as if it were nothing.

Welcome to the Organa-Solo family, where everyone wears masks. 

And, in typical Organa-Solo fashion, Ben had hung up his phone before his dad could start explaining things. He had then turned his phone on silent and dropped it into his backpack. He didn't trust himself to talk to the man until he'd calmed down a little. The last thing he wanted to do at the start of a busy week was get into a screaming match with his father. It was different than fighting with his mother, because at the end of the day, the two of them fought in the exact same style. It would have been easier for him had he had more cool-off time between the call and this class.

He was willing to bet good money that his father didn't even know that his son knew how to speak Dutch. 

Ben could perfectly see that map of Europe that he once had in his room, back in Buffalo, keeping track of where his father was. How many times had the road led back to Amsterdam – and how long did it take to get from there to Rotterdam? He hadn't thought about it, never saw anything amiss. It was just a place where his father always seemed to be going or leaving – a spoke on the wheel of Han Solo's life, the way that O'Hare was an airport you had to travel to in the Upper Great Plains if you wanted to get somewhere else. 

He'd ripped that map down in what he felt was a rather justified rage at the end of eighth grade when his father hadn't shown up for graduation. Ben also remembered that his mother had approved of him doing it; she'd been disappointed too, having not seen her husband at that point for a year and a half. Han Solo arrived two months after the event, claiming that it'd been non-stop work and sick coworkers causing him to work back-to-back shifts. 

Ben seriously doubted that a company as prestigious as Viking worked their crews like it was still the nineteenth century. 

It had been a tense couple of weeks; and then, just like he had dozens of times before, Han Solo walked out the door and headed back off to his life, leaving Ben and his mother in their rapidly deteriorating relationship. 

He didn't need brooding, he didn't need excuses, he needed _answers_. When he got back to the apartment, he'd check his phone, and most likely call his father again, and let him explain what was going on. He would let Han Solo talk, and then, regardless of what his father said, Ben was going to tell him he needed time to think. 

Then he'd just do his best make it to Wednesday, when he went to see Dr. Andres. He hadn't fallen apart in the doctor's office since his breakup with Bazine three years ago.

The kicker of it was, he didn't know if Han Solo had had an affair, Ben wasn't certain if he was more pissed that his father had chosen to spend time with whomever that woman was instead of him, or that he'd cheated on his mother. 

If it turned out _both_ of his parents had known about it and had no damn issues, and _fucking_ kept it from him – his grandmother was going to hear his scream of rage all the way in Scottsdale. 

*

Rey had not waited for Ben in the classroom since the day she came over to look at the apartment. They hadn't agreed on it, but it was somehow understood that what happened in this room and what happened outside of it were to be kept separate, and after this past weekend, it seemed even more important. Everyone in the class had seen the new marks on his body. It wasn't shame or embarrassment, far from it – but given the look on Ben's face today, all it would take would be one crude comment in her direction and he'd punch the offender.

However, she felt that lingering in the hallway didn't exactly count as waiting. 

She stood in front of the bulletin board, the same place where he'd found her almost a month ago, staring at the papers on it without really seeing them. Tomorrow she was heading to the bank to work on transferring the funds. A good hunk of her new-found fortune was going towards her education, and she was going to put a least half of it away into savings. She might just ditch her job at Aldi before Christmas – and not work next semester at all, focusing solely on her education. She hadn't brought up the letter with Ben, not yet. She needed to get her mind wrapped around the windfall herself before she told anyone. Well, Mrs. Skywalker knew, but that was different. But she could take a semester off working. Just one. 

“Hey.” Ben's voice drew her from her thoughts. He looked a fraction better than he had in the classroom. He glanced at the board, then back at her. “Something wrong?”

“I think I should be asking you that.” She replied as they started down the corridor, heading for the exit. “You're not failing a class, are you?”

“No.” He shook his head and managed a grin. “Looking forward to the end of the semester.” 

“Aren't we all? Well, not exams.” She shifted her backpack. “How long will it take you to get your Masters? I've been meaning to ask.” 

“Next semester is my last.” He shrugged. “Since my job could hardly be considered full time, I've been able to dedicate most of my time to school.” He pushed his hair out of his face. “I won't be leaving Chicago when I'm done. I'll just find a better place to work than Michael's. Library, or something. But I'm not going to graduation, or anything. They'll just mail me the diploma.” 

“Why aren't you going to go? And don't feed me a bullshit line about how no one would come, because I'd definitely go.” She grasped the collar of her coat, leaning into the wind. 

“Because it's the same weekend as Anna's high school graduation. I'm going to that instead.” He smiled. “You think your high school was cutthroat, try it when there's just twelve students in the class and they are all contending for the top two spots.” 

Rey snickered. “I sincerely doubt that. There's just twelve people in her class?”

He frowned. “There might be fifteen. Anyway, I've already promised Anna I'd be there.” 

“You are too damn nice, you know that Ben Solo?” She chuckled.

“I'm told that it both my greatest asset and my biggest weakness.” He held the door open for her as they stepped outside into the cold afternoon. “Saw your class schedule for next semester. Twenty-one hours? Are you planning on sleeping at all?”

She gave him a look. “I'll work it out.” She covered a yawn. “And you brought home a puzzle.” She reached over and took his hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze. “You want start on it tonight?” 

“Maybe, I seem to recall you mentioning a small pile of projects you wanted to finish before Thursday.” He replied, adjusting the hold on his backpack as they headed across the campus. “You written your Christmas list yet?”

“No.” She snorted. “Why, have you?”

He blinked at her, “you don't have an Amazon wish list?”

She rolled her eyes. “Doesn't just about everyone? I just rarely expect to see anything from it show up.”

*

Ben was not surprised at the five missed calls from his father when he finally looked at his phone. He sat at his desk, staring at the device, the faint sounds of the music playing in Rey's studio filtering through the closed doors. He took a drink from his mug of hot chocolate just as the device started to ring, the words “DAD” on the screen seemed horrifically bright. Taking a breath, he picked up the phone and answered it. “What time is it there?” 

“It's eleven-thirty at night.” A thin voice, not his father's, answered. “What time is it there?”

“Four thirty in the afternoon.” He replied, frowning. Not only was the female voice on the other line thin, it was young and her English was heavily accented. He took another sip of cocoa, then started to speak to the stranger in Dutch. “Good evening, my name is Ben Organa-Solo. Who are you?”

“You speak Dutch!” the girl sounded perfectly delighted, and far too awake for the time of night where she was. “My name is Diana Anslan-Solo, and I'm eleven years old. How old are you?”

“Did.... did you just say your last name was _Solo?_ ” The sentence came out half Dutch, half English. Maybe he'd been wrong about everything and he had an aunt and a cousin in Holland and dad just never said anything. That went right out the window when he heard the girl give out a squeal of surprise and then his father's voice replied instead of hers.

“Who is this?” He sounded about as awful as Ben felt.

“It's your _son_. Remember me?” He stood up, not trusting himself to remain calm. “What the hell is going on?”

“Ben?” Han Solo sounded surprised, then affronted. “You didn't take my calls earlier.”

“I was in class.” He replied, lifting his chin, his eyes level with the darkening skyline. “What. Is. Going. On?”

“I'm going to tell you, just let me tell you and then you can start shouting.” He took a breath. “I'm not having an affair, if that's what you're thinking. It... well, I had an affair, but that was twelve years ago and it was only for a few weeks.” He let out a groan. “Look, I was going to call you tonight and tell you the whole story anyway. You just found out in a way I didn't intend for you to.” He cursed softly. 

“Mom already knows, doesn't she?” He snapped. “That's what made her so pissed the summer before high school.” 

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Ben was ready to scream.

“Why the hell didn't mom divorce you for it?” He shot back. “Answer me!”

“Ben, your mom knows about the affair, she doesn't know about Diana.” Han took a breath. “Diana's mom, Sonja, didn't expect me to hang around. I stop by their home maybe twice a year.” There was a soft noise. “It was not a problem until now. Sonja's been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer.” 

“To borrow a phrase from Uncle Luke, can you see the size of the manure pile you're stuck in?” He took a drink of cocoa, then started to pace. 

“Yeah. Sonja's got a brother who lives in Chicago.” His father chuckled. “if it wasn't so damn serious, I'd almost find it easier to laugh at the irony of the situation.” in the long pause, he heard Diana say something that sounded like 'good night' and outside Ben watched lights go out in office buildings as people ended their work days. “Her uncle is going to come to Rotterdam before Christmas and take her back to the States.” 

“I see.” Ben went and sat down in his easy chair, his brain still trying to process the fact that he had a sister. “Do Sonja and Diana know about mom and I?”

“Not in detail. Sonja wanted to keep things – well, she still wants to keep things as they are. But we both know that's not possible.” His father let out a breath. “I should have told you about this sooner. But there never seemed to be a good time, or a good way.” 

“Well, considering the last time you saw me was high school graduation, nearly _six years ago_ , I can sort of see how that could happen.” Shock was slowly bleeding into anger in his mind. It wasn't angry at the affair, wasn't angry that Diana had most likely seen their father more in her eleven years than he had in his almost twenty four. He was angry at the situation he was currently sitting in, and couldn't believe just how _selfish_ his parents were. “I called you today because I wanted to let you know that a book I wrote is getting published.” 

“What's your story about, kiddo?” He sounded stunned. “I didn't know you were still writing.” He coughed. “Shit, Ben, I thought you were teaching out there in Chicago.” 

Rather than reply, he ended the call and dropped the phone on his desk, glowering at the device. Almost instantly, it lit back up, the word 'DAD' flashing on the screen to let him know who the caller was. Ignoring the phone, he sat down, picked up his mug of hot chocolate and turned his gaze towards the window, wrapping his hands around the warm ceramic. 

“Ben?” Rey knocked on the frame of the door, leaning into the room. “You okay?”

He took a drink from his mug, but didn't turn to look at her. That wretched, awful, dead feeling he always knew would come back and settle over him was rapidly returning, despite the wonderful weekend he'd just had. “I did not think it was possible for my dad to make me angrier than my mom, but he's gone and done it.” He kicked his foot so that the chair and he was facing her. “I have just learned that not only did my father once cheat on my mother, I have an eleven year old half-sister in Holland that has seen him more in her life than I have in mine.” 

“Well, fuck.” She went over and sat in the easy chair, her face concerned. “So this you on the edge of not being in good shape, huh?”

He nodded, taking another long pull of hot chocolate. “And not only do I not get to know about having a little sister, my dad is so out of touch with me, he had no idea I was still writing. Thought I was teaching.” 

Rey went slightly pink. “Well, you _have_ been teaching, in a matter of speaking.” She let out a soft chuckle. 

He coughed and managed a smile. “How are you doing?”

“Pretty good.” She lifted her chin. “I was thinking... I know we haven't really discussed it, but I was wondering, about what your grandma said, about going to South Dakota for Christmas?”

Ben nodded, setting his mug down. “What about it?”

She took a breath before answering. “I was thinking – wouldn't it be easier if your grandma just flew to Sioux Falls from Arizona and we flew in on the same day? It cuts down on travel, expenses...” 

He leaned forward, smiling, the dreaded feeling abating somewhat. “You do know you'll have to share a room with the girls.” 

Rey snickered. “I can manage. I've shared rooms before, and something tells me I won't need to worry about your cousins stealing my clothes.” 

Ben laughed and drained the last of his drink. “Considering you're taller than all of them, I'd say it's highly unlikely. But I make no promises about shoes.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We're taking Arya with us.”

“Of course we are.” She grinned. “You really should just go ahead and get her designated as a therapy animal, because she is.” 

He chuckled as the cat in question stepped into the room and rubbed up against the scratching post next to the easy chair before she started to claw it. “Do you have your finals schedule yet?”

“I will by tomorrow.” Rey stood and came over to him, placing a kiss on the top of his head and he smiled. “You?”

“Not really exams for me, more like deadlines for papers.” Ben hugged her around the waist. “Exactly how do you have a final in art classes?”

“Turn in your final piece and then you write an essay detailing what you've learned in the class.” She chuckled. “Which means I can devote most of my studying time to Chemistry.” She kissed him again and went to the door. “Oh, I was going to put the pizza I picked up at work the other day in the oven, you want some?”

“I could eat, yeah.” He replied, taking his empty mug and following her out of the room. “I think I need another cup of hot chocolate.” 

**

Leia washed out her travel mug in the employee sink, then stuck in her lunch box, glad that the usual calm of the firm during the holidays had decided to settle in before December even started. The only real thing on anyone's mind these days was the merger of the firm with another one located in St. Louis. It really didn't concern her too much; as far as she was concerned, the only part of the transition she wasn't looking forward to would be the clash of styles that would have to learn to cooperate and coexist. 

She went into her office, gathering up the rest of her things, relieved that it wasn't snowing. Even after all the years of doing it, she still despised driving in the snow. Mainly because there were always people who thought they knew how to drive in it, but really had no clue. 

“Ah, Leia, you're still here, good.” A voice said from her doorway and she looked up. 

“Daniel.” She kept the surprise out of her voice. She couldn't recall the last time her boss had been in her office. Not since she got back from Chicago back in June. “How was your holiday?”

“Oh, it was all right.” He came over to her desk, his face brightening. “I suppose you've been hearing about the merger with McBride.” 

“I have.” Her stomach turned over. What was this about? “It's been rather seamless so far, hasn't it?”

“That is has. The trouble is that McBride's firm suffers from a lack of senior lawyers. Ones with experience that we here at Carmichael's have.” He squared his shoulders, a ghost of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “How would you feel about moving to St. Louis, Leia?”

She was glad she wasn't holding anything, or she would have certainly dropped it. “Go to St. Louis?”

“Yes.” Now her boss was beaming. “You're an intelligent, accomplished lawyer and a fine member of this law firm. You're exactly what McBride's needs. And when it comes to finding solutions, you're one of the best.” 

“Thank you, sir.” She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Law was about the only place she was good at finding solutions. “When would I have to be ready to leave?”

“The merger will be official as of February first, so it would have to be soon. I know with the holidays coming, it may be difficult, but all of us on both boards want this to be as seamless as possible.” He took a breath, “is Ben coming home for Christmas this year? How's he doing, by the way? Recovered from his accident?”

“He's much better, thank you.” She shook her head. “I'm afraid he's not coming for the holiday. He's in his next to last semester of getting his masters, so he's unable to come back.” It wasn't a total lie. She didn't know what her son was doing these days. “I would like to think about your offer, Mr. Carmichael, just for twenty-four hours, if that's all right?”

“Of course.” He was still smiling. “I know how thorough you like to be, Leia.” He nodded. “Good night.”

“Good night.” She answered as he walked out the door, and then she sank into her chair, her mind reeling. She thought back to her conversation with Han back on Friday. She wanted to start over, or at least start to make things right with Ben. She meant it.

Shoving her baby away when he needed her was unforgivable, she knew that now. Leia had known it was wrong when she started doing it. It wasn't Anakin Skywalker's fault that he'd been unable to keep his promise to come home, even if at five it felt like it. That was just how it started. She pushed Ben away before he could go the way of both of his grandfathers, his uncle, and his father. When in truth, her son was the only person who hadn't disappointed her, instead of him letting her down, she had let him down.

Maybe getting out of Buffalo and her over-large empty house was _exactly_ what she needed. 

She pulled on her coat and gathered up her things. As she picked up her cell-phone, she saw she had three missed calls – one from her mother, one from Han, and surprisingly, one from Ben. “I'll call them when I get home.” She murmured to herself as she dropped her phone into her purse and headed out the door. 

*

“We're home.” Luke called into the house as he, Anna and Mara came into the mudroom. “Kids?” He glanced down at his eldest. “Do you know if they were plotting something?”

“I haven't seen all of them since breakfast and the last time I saw Elijah was at lunch.” She replied, hanging up her coat. 

“Kids?” Luke asked again and stepped into the kitchen, to find Daisy, Liam and Elisa, all standing in a row, looking very much like the cat that ate the canary. “What's going on?”

“Guess what.” Elisa asked, doing a poor job of keeping her face straight.

“What?” He frowned, glancing at his wife and Anna.

“No clues, just a guess.” Liam replied, his grin threatening to break his face.

“Please, no games, just tell us.” Mara was worn. It'd been a long day for them already, and now their children were clearly up to something. “Either tell us or give us a clue.”

Daisy leaned forward, grinning. “Guess who accepted their invitation for Christmas.” 

Anna's jaw dropped. “Ben's coming?” 

“Uh huh!” Liam answered, grinning. “He called while you were gone. Said he needed to talk to grandma about it, but he and his roommate, Rey, are coming. Along with Arya the Cat.” 

Luke frowned. “You're not making this up, he actually called and agreed to come for Christmas?”

The kids all nodded in reply. 

Mara eyed them. “Where's Elijah?”

“He started cleaning our room.” Liam replied. “I agreed to clean the bathroom if he took care of our room.” He rubbed his nose. “Ben asked if you would call him back after supper. Just to confirm a few things.”

“Well, all right then.” He chuckled. “I don't suppose you let the two of them in on the gift exchange?”

“Of course we did.” Elisa piped up as Daisy started getting things out of the fridge to make supper. “Elijah swapped Daisy's name with Rey, and I swapped Liam's name for Ben's, and he said no, Arya does not need a stocking.” 

**

Diana could not sleep. She was exhausted, but sleep would not come. She had known her mother was sick and was not going to get better for some time. In a few weeks, she was going to have to leave Holland, leave her mom, leave her _home_ , and she'd never come back here. When Papa had come by on Sunday, it's been a surprise. He was like that, turning up when she least expected it. What she hadn't expected was that her older brother, the one she occasionally heard about, had no idea that she even existed. 

It made her stomach feel sour. 

When she'd borrowed the phone to try and call him, she hadn't expected him to answer. Or that he didn't know about her. She knew that her mom and dad weren't married, but no one ever said anything about it. There were tons of kids in her class who only had one parent, and a couple who had parents who were both the same gender. But somehow, being unknown seemed horrible. Like she was something to be ashamed of. 

It almost made her glad that she was leaving Rotterdam and going all the way to Chicago, were Papa wouldn't be seeing her all that often.

Chicago was were her brother Ben lived.

Diana rolled over and fixed her gaze out the window, listening to the house settle for the night. It was strange how quickly she accepted the idea that the cancer her mom had was going to kill her, and yet, she couldn't quite fathom the idea that her brother had remained ignorant of her for all of her life. Now he knew. By this time tomorrow afternoon, Papa's wife was going to know too. 

She couldn't believe that Papa hadn't seen her brother in six years. 

All she really wanted right now was for someone to hug her, hold her close and tell her that everything was going to be just fine, and that everything would all work out. It would all be okay. 

And she could believe them. 

She closed her eyes and started to count down from six thousand, six hundred and four. That's how many kilometers it was from Rotterdam to Chicago. She was asleep before she had gone five hundred kilometers.


End file.
